Nike founder Knight makes a call on possible Portland Trail Blazers purchase

Valued at $3.6 billion, the Portland Trail Blazers are up for sale.

Late owner Paul Allen’s estate confirmed plans to sell the franchise stating: The sale is “consistent with Allen’s directive to eventually sell his sports holdings and direct all estate proceeds to philanthropy,” the Trail Blazers said in a statement posted on social media.

Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, purchased the Trail Blazers for $70 million in 1988. He died in 2018.

Allen’s estate also owns the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and a 25 percent stake in the Seattle Sounders of MLS but said neither of those clubs is for sale.

The Portland team are one of the lowest-valued teams in the league at $3.65 billion and have struggled in recent years and have failed to make postseason in the past four seasons.

Knight says ‘it’s too late’

Nike founder Phil Knight was quickly linked as a potential new buyer, but the Oregon native believes it’s too late in the game for him to buy an NBA franchise.

The 87-year-old Knight issued a statement citing his age as a primary issue to purchasing the NBA team.

“Five years ago, when I was a younger man, I had a great interest in being a part of the Portland Trail Blazers franchise. However, at my current age, I can confirm that I no longer have interest in acquiring the team,” Knight said in a statement issued by Nike.

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